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Seas0nPass jailbreak and aTV Flash (black) version arrive for Apple TV 5.2, bring Bluetooth keyboard compatibility
Cupertino finally saw fit to give users access to Bluetooth keyboards when it rolled out version 5.2 for Apple TV. It took a bit of time, but the folks at Firecore have finished up the Seas0nPass jailbreak for the new OS iteration. Along with the jailbreak, a revised version of its aTV Flash (black) software is also now available to give the new Bluetooth functionality to folks who prefer it to a stock Apple TV experience. Excited? Head on down to the source for the full how-to, and you'll have a wireless keyboard hooked up to your hacked Jobsian hockey puck in no time.
aTV Flash 2.1 (black) offers very specific favorites, TV shows in playlists
It's not hard to find a media app with some type of favorites system. It's tougher to find one that lets us be very specific on just what a favorite can be. The new aTV Flash (black) 2.1 update, however, will let Apple TV modders be as exacting as they'd like: they can favorite individual videos, whole seasons and even broader search terms. Catch-up viewers get their own treat in the form of TV show playlists that simplify watching episodes back-to-back. A slew of further tweaks are inside, including iOS 6 support, so there's every incentive to upgrade for those who rely on not-quite-official firmware for Apple's living room hub.
aTV Flash (black) version 1.6 for Apple TV will serve subtitles and more to your couch
Snared the video you want with aTV Flash (black), but still foraging for subtitles the old way? Version 1.6 of the $29.95 package will now hunt them down from OpenSubtitles.org and download 'em directly to your jailbroken Apple TV 2nd-gen. In addition, Firecore's undermining software now has more codecs and languages, smoother video playback, better networking and numerous refinements and bug fixes. Existing clients will score the upgrade gratis, and new orders won't pay for Apple TV 3rd-gen functionality when it comes out. If you want to say no mas to badly dubbed films, roll to the source for more details.
aTV Flash (black) for Apple TV hits version 1.5, brings new player, NFS streaming and more
Folks enjoying all the tidbits aTV Flash (black) brings to the 2nd-gen Apple TV will be happy to know there's a fresh update rolling out now. Inside v1.5, FireCore's added new features such as NFS streaming, as well as including other minor things like extra transitions, subtle timing settings and support for more languages. In addition, and what's perhaps the biggest enhancement, the $29.99 kit is also getting an all-new player, which promises a smoother playback regardless of the file type being used -- not to mention it's optimized for iOS 5. Of course, the refresh is gratis to those who've already shelled out the cash, and you can get to it by hitting the "Manage Extras" menu on Cupertino's miniature box. Not familiar with aTV Flash? Give the source link below a quick click to peruse all about it.
Seas0npass tethered jailbreak now available for Apple TV 2s running iOS 5.1
Apple TV owners no longer need to choose between jailbreaking or running the recently released iOS 5.1 update, now that FireCore has pushed new versions of Seas0nPass (0.8.3) and aTV Flash (black) (1.4.1). Currently, the jailbreak is still tethered, so if you should have to reboot your hockey puck, connecting it to a computer and repeating the process will be required. Unfortunately, the tools won't work on the new third generation Apple TVs yet, and even on supported hardware some plugins, like Plex and XBMC, are still listed as not working. All the details can be found beyond the source link for both the free Seas0nPass jailbreaker and $29.95 aTV Flash that adds more functionality.
aTV Flash update adds automatic backups, new playback options to jailbroken Apple TVs
The FireCore team has been busy updating its pay-to-play ($30) aTV Flash software package for jailbroken Apple TVs and just rolled out the latest bundle of updates in version 1.3. Now it can automatically perform backups, speaks more languages, supports more remote commands, reads more subtitles and the list goes on. You can check after the break for the full changelog, or just hit the Maintenance section if you're already running it to download the update. Take a peek at what it can do and let us know if this is a worthwhile alternative to XBMC, or any of the other media streaming platforms out there.
aTV Flash (black) leaves beta, grants your Apple TV media-playing super powers
We're definitely of the opinion that the dedicated devs who do all the heavy lifting so you can tweak and hack your pile of gadgets deserve a little something for their troubles. That being said, Firecore's aTV Flash (black) is still going to be a tough sell at $30 (now that it's left beta). But, before you go, perhaps you'd like to know what that chunk of cash will enable your 2nd-gen Apple TV to do. For one, it blesses Cupertino's hobby set-top with an all new media player that can open AVI, MKV, MP4, ISO and host of other file formats. There's also an HTML5 browser for surfing the web and streaming media. Want more apps? How about a Plex client and Last.FM radio? Perhaps best of all, though, it allows you to play back files stored on a PC, Mac or NAS without the need for iTunes. Check out the video demo after the break.
Seas0nPass jailbreak app for Apple TV now available
The folks at fireCore have released Seas0nPass, a jailbreak application for the second generation Apple TV. Seas0nPass is a tethered jailbreak solution that requires you to connect your Apple TV to your computer briefly during boot. Similar to the Pwnage tool app, the jailbreak application lets you load custom IPSW files onto your Apple TV. While Seas0nPass is new, fireCore is a name that should be familiar to Apple TV owners. This group also released aTV Flash, a software package that adds streaming services like Last.fm, an HTML 5 web browser and more to the Apple TV. The latest version aTV Flash (black) is in beta and is available as a pre-order for US$19.95. It requires a jailbroken second generation Apple TV. Unlike aTV Flash, which is available for a nominal fee, Seas0nPass is open source and available for free. The tool was designed for the second generation Apple TV only, so please don't try this with your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The current version of Seas0nPass is compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 or later. A Windows version is under development and will be available soon. Interested Apple TV owners can grab the download and pertinent instructions at Seas0nPass.com. The source code is available here on Github. Remember, jailbreaking is inherently risky and the comments on fireCore's website suggest this tool may be riskier than normal. Jailbreaking is done at the sole discretion of the reader, and we assume no responsibility for bricked Apple TVs.
aTV Flash (black) now in beta, ready to equip your new Apple TV with a browser
It's always a bit of a funny business paying for hacks, but Fire Core's aTV Flash is a serious product and we can't blame them for trying to make a buck off the back of it. Now the sequel, aTV Flash (black), is here in beta form, bringing a subset of the aTV Flash's functionality to the brand new Apple TV, which runs that fancy new iOS-based 4.0 software. Most importantly, Fire Core brings a HTML5-compatible browser, but the Last.fm app and Plex Client are welcome tag alongs. "Coming soon" features include expanded media format support and networked storage support. The pre-order beta price is $20, while the final hack will retail for $30. For existing users, (black) is a free upgrade. [Thanks, Gustavo]
Fire Core teases aTV Flash for Apple TV 2G
The Apple TV jailbreaking scene is maturing at a significant pace. We've already seen our first third-party app following the greenp0ison jailbreak, which was quickly followed by a demo of the Plex media center and some experiments with making it work with Wiimotes. Now, respected hackers of the original model Apple TV Fire Core are showing off its modified software, aTV Flash, running on the Apple TV 2G. Our own TJ Luoma was impressed by aTV Flash when he tried it on an older model Apple TV; it adds support for streaming all sorts of media files that you can't normally play, some UI tweaks, an SSH server, and Boxee support. (Update: Fire Core's site has a blurb mentioning Boxee as an "extended feature" for aTV Flash, but the problem is, the way their site's laid out doesn't make it clear if that's talking about the old version of aTV Flash or the new version. A commenter on Fire Core's blog indicates Boxee support is dependent upon XBMC Core being ported to the ARM architecture powering the new Apple TV, and it's unclear if the XBMC development team will do so or not. Consequently, It turns out the state of Boxee support isn't 100% clear for the new Apple TV.) There is a big caveat though -- aTV Flash costs $50 for a license (which comes with one year of updates). Combined with the $100 cost of the Apple TV itself and you could almost have bought a Boxee Box, which would work without any modifications. Furthermore, it seems likely that other open source efforts will eventually bring most or all of these features to the Apple TV for free. Click through for videos demonstrating the new UI offered by aTV Flash and the new last.fm streaming support that is being added to the latest version of Fire Core's software.
Jailbroken Apple TVs getting Last.fm and a browser, for a price
There's something deep down inside of us that makes us want to believe Apple has some sort of app plan for Apple TV, and by "deep down inside" we mean "jailbreaking." Fire Core, the people behind the aTV Flash software package for older Apple TVs, has just shown off its work on aTV Flash (black), a port of its hackery to the new Apple TV. Basically, aTV Flash converts your Apple TV into most of the interesting parts of the Boxee Box, and we're particularly interested in the "Couch Surfer" browser aspect -- at least as far as it can fend off encroaching jealousy for Boxee and Google TV. Unfortunately, the current version of aTV Flash costs $50, and while $50 + $100 is less than a Boxee Box, you don't have to hack the Boxee to make it work. Hopefully Fire Core will reconsider that price by the time it launches aTV Flash (black), and in the meantime maybe some white knight hacker will get something like this working on Apple TVs gratis. Check out a video of the browser and Last.fm in action after the break.
First generation Apple TV owners: checkout aTV Flash
Like many first generation Apple TV owners, I was sad to see that we were being left behind with the advent of the new Apple TV. That said, I have no plans to get rid of my original Apple TV. In fact, Apple's decision spurred me to take action I have been thinking about for a long time: installing aTV Flash. aTV Flash is a set of programs that add features to your Apple TV. It adds SSH/FTP access, allows you to use an external hard drive for additional storage, adds Boxee support, and much more. One of the big additions is the ability to watch AVI, MP4, MOV, WMV, and DVD (VIDEO_TS) files. You can even install Firefox and use the AppleTV as a web browser. I've actually owned the aTV Flash software for over a year but had never gotten around to using it, because after each Apple TV update I'd have to wait for the software to be updated again. aTV Flash updates come out fairly regularly, but it was just the hassle of the process that made me averse to doing it. Now that Apple has declared the product to be essentially End Of Life, I figured there was no better time to start. Installing aTV Flash couldn't be any simpler. You simply download the installer (available for Mac or Windows), and it installs the aTV Flash software onto a USB flash drive. Unplug your Apple TV, plug in the aTV Flash formatted flash drive, reboot the Apple TV, and wait for it to finish. The whole process took only a few minutes. After being updated, the Apple TV interface looks mostly the same, except there are some new menu options to choose from. The aTV Flash software sells for $50 and includes a year of updates. They are planning to keep developing additional features for the first generation Apple TV units, including Last.fm support. When I first looked into this about a year ago, there were apparently ways to do much of what aTV Flash offers by yourself if you had the time and inclination to find the instructions on a variety of websites. Personally I found it well worth it to pay for an easy way, but if you are looking to save some money, you might take a look via Google to see what's available; it may have gotten easier since I last checked.
Boxee / XBMC now available on Apple TV
If you were curious as to why Boxee suddenly became available for OS X 10.4 users, here's your sign. The underpinnings of the Apple TV are indeed based on Tiger, thus paving the way for Scott Davilla, a developer for the aTV-bootloader project, to announce that Boxee and XMBC can now be installed on Apple's set-top-box. In order to take advantage, you'll need the aTV Flash bootloader on a bootable USB drive, an Apple TV and the software in the links below. Currently, things are setup to run on Mac only, though PC / Linux versions are promised for next week. After signing up for a Boxee invite, jump on past the break for the step-by-step guide to getting this going. %Gallery-33129% Read - ATV Bootloader siteRead - Boxee Alpha signup
aTV: plug and play Apple TV hacking
If you have an Apple TV and are interested in some of the exciting things you can do by hacking it (e.g. adding additional video codec support like divx, etc.) but have been too chicken to try it yourself, you may be interested in the aTV Flash from Apple Core. Basically the aTV Flash is a patchstick -- a USB flash drive preloaded with software to modify the Apple TV OS. You just plug it in to your Apple TV and it automatically hacks your Apple TV to add multiple codec support, SSH access, the Couch Surfer browser, and much more.The aTV Flash is compatible with the current Apple TV Take Two and they offer free updates for a year. However, all this convenience will cost you -- $59.95 to be precise. It's also worth keeping in mind that all of this can be done for little or no cost if you want to get your hands dirty. But if the convenience of a plug and play option is worth it to you the aTV Flash may be worth checking out.[via MacMerc]
